By Ashton Cynthia Clarke I don’t remember why Daddy suddenly told me to fix dinner. Making our beds and polishing the wood veneer furniture with Pledge were the only household chores assigned to me and my little brother. Preparing food was strictly Mommy’s job. But where she was, I don’t remember. There was a period … Continue reading The Unjoy of Cooking
Mia’s Journey
By E.P. Lande I try to visit my family in Miami once or twice a year and when there, I see people with whom I’ve maintained a friendship since I left, to live in northern Vermont. Jessica was one of these people. When I first arrived in this country from my native Cuba—via Italy, … Continue reading Mia’s Journey
Love in a Nutshell
By Joan Leotta Last week I bought a bag of assorted nuts in their shells and set them into the carved wooden bowl my grandmother gave me. I dug out the steel nutcracker (pliers- style) set, complete with picks. I smiled as I looked at the nuts in the bowl because in my mind I … Continue reading Love in a Nutshell
Esme
By Wendy Taylor It sat on a shelf in Dad’s wardrobe and each time I went in to grab a jacket to put on him when we went out for a walk, I saw it there. A bible. I had never really given it a second thought assuming it to be a family bible which … Continue reading Esme
Leeches
By Jim Bates It was a hot August dawn. We were on the city dock, dangling our feet above the water. The sun was rising orange above the trees. The lake stretched out in front of us, waves rippling with a few ducks floating nearby. I hardly noticed any of it. Davy had driven us … Continue reading Leeches
The Loud Inside
By rani Jayakumar “Eduardo, close the door.” The assistant shut the heavy gray door with a nearly silent click behind Arturo, who shuffled in with a slump. The dentist, or as Arturo called him in his head, “El Doctor,” motioned to him to sit on the brown reclining chair. The room smelled of fresh paint … Continue reading The Loud Inside
Clam
By Miss Kay CLAM. From his bent position it was hard to make out his face. He seemed unfazed by the happenings around him. The town centre was abuzz. Honking cars, traffic slowly building. The park close by engulfed in activity. It was Saturday and the town’s people descended upon the park to flex their … Continue reading Clam
My Brother’s Books
By Mary Kathleen Felice my brother’s books are old with dusty jackets and torn covers yellow edged and sepia toned pages many dangling from broken spines as are we worn and aged through time as was he until his passing on the most recent of Mothers’ Days the heavenly reunion of which I’m sure brought … Continue reading My Brother’s Books
For Stephanie
By Lamont A. Turner My darling Stephanie, you were so young And possessed with a grace unmatched in all The poet’s lore and songs of love once sung By kind Euterpe who would enthrall The lost and lonely in unending nights Of tempestuous, impassioned delights. I belonged to you from the moment you Kissed my … Continue reading For Stephanie
Nice Day For It
By Wendy Taylor Nice day For It ‘It was a nice day for it,’Anna said. Rob waited for her to continue. ‘I rode Roly over the back of the farm and down to the river today,’ said Anna. ‘That would have been fun,’ Rob replied. He shifted his position in the wipe clean chair and … Continue reading Nice Day For It
Academy of the Heart And Mind 